Buckeye Editorial Sampler: Are we too clean for our own good?

WirePublished: June 27, 2006 12:00AM

(Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers.)
Youre better protected from germs, you dirty rat. Over the past several decades, the numbers of people who suffer from allergies and asthma have increased dramatically. Some scientists say thats because people have become too darn clean. Theyre not letting their immune systems be challenged by the big things, so their bodies instead attack little things that it normally would ignore, such as pollen.
The cleaner you are, the more you are bound to suffer.
This viewpoint is bolstered by a couple of new studies showing that sewer rats have healthier immune systems than the much cleaner laboratory rats.
If the same holds true for humans, it could be a turning point in history: Dirty good. Clean bad. ...
The Columbus Dispatch, June 26
High taxes causing
Ohios population losses
Go west, young man, and south, too, for the fastest growing cities in America. ...
The Census Bureau says Toledo holds the dubious distinction of ranking 13th in the nation in terms of fastest shrinking populations. ...
As sobering as the news is for Toledo, its worse in Cincinnati.
The Queen City is No. 2 in the country for population loss. Cleveland comes in eighth. Detroit ranked sixth in shrinking population. ...
While some blame the often harsh northern climate, we blame taxes: Ohio remains a high-tax state, and the resultant job loss, worsened by the steady erosion of manufacturing as an economic base, seems unrelenting.
The (Toledo) Blade, June 24
Senate needs to pass
line-item veto bill
In one respect, the president of the United States has less power than the governors of 43 states the ability to delete wasteful or unnecessary items from spending bills with the line-item veto.
A president who did exercise that power could save billions of dollars a year by X-ing out such nonsense as Alaskas infamous bridge to nowhere and thousands of other projects Washington has no business bankrolling.
Fortunately, the House passed a workable, if mild, version of the line-item veto 247-172 Thursday. The Senate should follow suit and approve this common-sense authority that presidents since Thomas Jefferson have been requesting. ...
The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 24
People want action
on immigration bill
Congressional leaders have pronounced immigration reform all but doomed for this year. ... The problem is that the politicians are listening to too many voices. On one side they have their constituents, most of whom want them to secure the border before they even begin to discuss amnesty for the millions of Mexican nationals and other illegal immigrants in this country. On the other side are their supporters in business, who are economically dependent on illegal alien workers, many of whom are willing to accept lower wages and do jobs that most Americans find unattractive.
But the politicians, particularly Republicans, need to wake up to the fact that the American people want them to pass an immigration bill. At the very least, they need to enact measures to control the Mexican border. If they fail to do so, the political consequences will be just as serious as those from doing the wrong thing ... perhaps more so. ...
The (Findlay) Courier, June 22